256 CERASUS SYLVESTRIS. 



poniuls, and in seasoning, it loses abont one-sixteenth part of its bnlk. In France, 

 where nuihogany is coniparaiivoly scarce, it is much sought alter by cabinet- 

 makers, turners, and the manufacturers of musical instruments. In order to 

 heighten its colour and incn^ase the depth of its tone, it is steeped from twenty- 

 four to thirty-six hours in lime-water, and after being taken out, is immedi- 

 ately polished. This j)roccss, they say, prevents the colour from fading, when 

 exposed to the action of the light ; and the wood, when thus treated, is said 

 strongly to resemble the more inferior kinds of mahogany. Its value, liowever, 

 accordmg to the experience of Mr. .Selby, is not restricted to the uses made of it 

 by tho.se artisans, but it is equally applicable to the general purposes of carpen- 

 try ; and where exposure to the atmosphere or the alternation of moisture and 

 dryness is required, it is superior to most other timber, and is scarcely inferior to 

 the best oak, or its rival, the larch.* In France, wine-casks arc made of this 

 wood, and the wine kept in them is said to be of an improved flavour. Where 

 the tree is treated as a coppice, its shoots, from their power of resisting decay, 

 make excellent hop-poles, vine-props, and hoops for casks, and when sullicicntly 

 large, they may be employed for posts and rails, for constructing rural fences. 

 Like many other trees, it burns well when first cut, but if it be kept for two or 

 three years, and is then employed for fuel, it will consume away like tinder, 

 without producing either flame or heat. 



As a tree, the gean is not only valuable for its timber, but for the food and 

 protection which it affords to numerous species of birds. This is one reason why 

 the cultivation of this tree is so generally encouraged in the forests of Britain, 

 Belgium, and France ; as it not only increases the number of birds by supplying 

 them with nourishment, but is the means of destroying countless insects, which 

 these important and useful creatures devour. In all ornamental plantations, 

 hedge-rows, and avenues, cherry-trees are desirable objects of culture, on this 

 account, as well as for the great beauty of their flowers and fruit, which are 

 produced in the greatest profusion in their respective seasons of the year. 



In France, too, this tree is highly prized for the food it supplies to the poor ; 

 and a law was passed, as long ago as 1669, commanding the preservation of all 

 cherry-trees in the royal forests, in consequence of which, they became so numer- 

 ous, that there was no longer room for the underwood to grow ; when, as usual, 

 going to the other extreme, most of them were cut down. This measure, it was 

 remarked, was a great calamity to the poor, who, during several months of the 

 year, lived, either directly or indirectly, on the produce of the merisier. Soup, 

 made of the dried fruit, with a little bread and butter, was the common nour- 

 ishment of the wood-cutters and charcoal-burners of the forest, during the 

 winter. This fruit is much used at present, to make jelly or rob, and in the 

 manufacture of liqueurs, such as cherry brandy, ratafia, &c. Kirschivasser, an 

 ardent spirit much used in Germany and Switzerland, is also made of it ; and 

 the famous liqueur Maraschino is the product of a small acid cherry that abounds 

 in the north of Italy, at Trieste, and in Dalmatia. 



* See Selby's British Forest Trees, p. 60. 



